A part of the M6 in Lancashire, 8 miles in length, will be the 7th site in the UK to have the lights switched off between midnight and 5am. The idea is to save both carbon emissions and money, as well as stopping light pollution.
However road safety campaigners are concerned about an increase in accidents. Although the Director of Policy and Research at IAM Motoring Trust, Neil Greig, said there were initial concerns about safety and they did realise that there was a small possibility of increased risk, he also said that there was no evidence currently.
The Highways Agency who is to re-invest the saved money in re-surfacing and other work also admitted that there could be an increase in accidents. It is only being done at quiet roads and not at junctions where accidents are more likely to occur.
Carbon emissions savings are up to 40%.
